Bella Dyosa

Not to give you an existential crisis early on in this post, but what IS your biggest dream?

Really think about it. Sit on it.

Don’t worry if it’s challenging, you’re probably not alone.

You see, when we were children, it was so easy for us to answer this question, because our parents (well, mine, at least) told us we could be whoever we wanted to be.

If we didn’t have one specific occupation in mind such as a doctor, a lawyer, an astronaut, we’d enumerate a wide spectrum of jobs, from garbage collecting to acting.

And the adults never questioned it. Of course, they wouldn’t. Kids are encouraged to dream and to dream BIG. The sky is their limit, their future full of bright possibilities.

But somewhere along the way (*cough* high school *cough*), we were hit with limitations. Out of nowhere, you had to pick your top three and if you had grades good enough to pursue your top choice, then you’re golden for the next chapter of your life aka college.

For others, the occupations they truly wanted weren’t even possible to go for. They would have to pivot and reroute to a job that was tolerable enough just so there was something (anything, really) to write on paper.

Come university life and concrete, practical goals were made. More limitations to make way for the linear (and “correct”) path.

What’s your five-year plan? Where do you see yourself working after graduation? Are you excited to be finally free of assignments, projects, thesis work, and terror professors?

Most of us had no problem with these queries. In fact, they fueled us with our rose-colored vision of the future. So young and so much potential. Eager to learn, ready to take over the world.

That is, before it all went to shit.

I don’t know about you, but there truly is something beautiful (albeit bittersweet) about transitioning to full adulthood.

On the one hand, you are hit with the realities of life, whether through painful or shocking means. On the other, you are pushed to what your actual limit is and with that comes benefits like knowing who you are at your core and not taking anyone’s shit anymore because of said discovery about yourself.

For many of us, our point of view of the world and what we have believed all throughout our life’s journey so far shatters right in front of our eyes. We feel small. We become lost. We question what in the hell we’ve been doing and what even is the point of taking one step forward again.

And our dreams. Our goals. Our aspirations. Were they even real? Or were they projections of what other people wanted from us?

Whatever your answer was, I guarantee that your dreams, goals, and aspirations changed. In some shape or form. Or modified a bit.

Because if you were to ask me what my biggest dream is now (after the ups and downs of introspection and initiation of adulthood), it is to be happy and grateful wherever I may be in life and to be the most favorite version of myself.

Yes, I have specifics (to travel while creating meaningful art and content, among many others), but it all boils down to that overarching dream, that main mantra, that holistic goal and aspiration.

This way, I get to the root of what truly makes me happy and I allow myself to thrive as my most favorite self whenever and wherever that may be.

I can confidently say that I have achieved my biggest dream. And I will continue making it come true for as long as I live. It isn’t that hard to attain anyway. Because the small things matter just as much as the momentous ones.

So, what’s your biggest dream?

My advice: the more meaningful and profound for you (and no one else but you), the better.